Morocco is a land of beautiful mosques, colorful people and wafting scent of spices in the air. It’s also a country with a strong grasp on traditions and rigid social norms, Islam dictates every single aspect of people’s lives, whether they are devout or not.
Islam celebrates marriage and family, Western practices of flirting and dating are very much out of the question. It’s considered inappropriate and shameful for unmarried males and females to socialize. Public displays of affection are not really tolerated and premarital sex is of course strictly forbidden. Engaging in premarital sex is considered prostitution under Islamic law and a girl who loses her virginity outside the marriage brings great shame to her family's reputation. Her family will have nothing to do with her, she will probably be kicked out and shunned for good. A woman’s virginity is like a badge of family honor. By old traditions, after the wedding night her bloody underwear or bloody bed-sheets must be displayed to prove that she was indeed a virgin and the husband got a proper wife.
Anyways, that’s what the laws and customs say. Reality of course varies a lot. In cities people are more flexible and open to Western values (or lack thereof), in rural areas life can be extremely conservative. Not so surprisingly, double standards are widely rampant in Morocco as well – an average young Moroccan man for example will probably attempt to have sexual relationships with young female classmates or friends, while still expecting both to protect the virginity of his own sisters and to marry a virgin himself. Many married men use the services of prostitutes and I’m sure a cheating wife is also not unheard of.
But putting aside all those rules and regulations, traditions and values, experimenting and pushing the boundaries - where does it leave simple young romance? That what Western society cherishes as pure and gentle, often inevitably painful in the end but still wonderfully lovely --
Islam celebrates marriage and family, Western practices of flirting and dating are very much out of the question. It’s considered inappropriate and shameful for unmarried males and females to socialize. Public displays of affection are not really tolerated and premarital sex is of course strictly forbidden. Engaging in premarital sex is considered prostitution under Islamic law and a girl who loses her virginity outside the marriage brings great shame to her family's reputation. Her family will have nothing to do with her, she will probably be kicked out and shunned for good. A woman’s virginity is like a badge of family honor. By old traditions, after the wedding night her bloody underwear or bloody bed-sheets must be displayed to prove that she was indeed a virgin and the husband got a proper wife.
Anyways, that’s what the laws and customs say. Reality of course varies a lot. In cities people are more flexible and open to Western values (or lack thereof), in rural areas life can be extremely conservative. Not so surprisingly, double standards are widely rampant in Morocco as well – an average young Moroccan man for example will probably attempt to have sexual relationships with young female classmates or friends, while still expecting both to protect the virginity of his own sisters and to marry a virgin himself. Many married men use the services of prostitutes and I’m sure a cheating wife is also not unheard of.
But putting aside all those rules and regulations, traditions and values, experimenting and pushing the boundaries - where does it leave simple young romance? That what Western society cherishes as pure and gentle, often inevitably painful in the end but still wonderfully lovely --
I had once a rare opportunity to get a glimpse of awkward attempt at romance, regardless of all those righteous and pious regulations, condescending traditions and probably well-meaning warnings. A young couple, boy and girl, were sitting in the park in Marrakech, quite hidden from the general foot traffic ..
And then the police arrived.
The guy screamed at them for few minutes, then demanded for their documents, probably wrote them up and in the end the young couple left the park with the policeman, looking defeated and scared.
The guy screamed at them for few minutes, then demanded for their documents, probably wrote them up and in the end the young couple left the park with the policeman, looking defeated and scared.
--
Note: This article is part of the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa Travel Blog Carnival #8 "Love on the Road", hosted by Sash at Barefoot Inked. Follow the link here to see more photos and read stories about what it's like to fall in love in another country, to cross the culture, language, religion barrier and see where that takes you. How different cultures deal with relationships in public, how is love shown? etc". Articles from some of the world’s best travel bloggers.
Note: This article is part of the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa Travel Blog Carnival #8 "Love on the Road", hosted by Sash at Barefoot Inked. Follow the link here to see more photos and read stories about what it's like to fall in love in another country, to cross the culture, language, religion barrier and see where that takes you. How different cultures deal with relationships in public, how is love shown? etc". Articles from some of the world’s best travel bloggers.
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